


A Heart of Gold

by loonyBibliophile



Category: Homestuck
Genre: AU, F/M, Humanstuck, Rating may go up but I didn't want to mislead people into thinking this was smut, Roxy is a stripper
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-08-29
Updated: 2013-10-13
Packaged: 2017-12-25 00:55:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,021
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/946752
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/loonyBibliophile/pseuds/loonyBibliophile
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Roxy was 13, she was forced to move to the other side of the country, from New York to California, when her mother died in a lab accident. Dirk's family offered her a place, but she turned them down and walked away from the only place she's ever lived. The family fortune left when her mother died, and medical school isn't cheap, so she does what she has to to get by. In this case, that makes stripping, and eight years after they parted ways, she and Dirk meet again in the last place either of them ever expected.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. So We Meet Again

There were loud jeers as Dirk's friends pulled him towards the red wooden door with the red neon letters that read PREMIUM BITCHES, glowing out over the door.

"Come on, guys, is this really necessary? I mean, if you want me to get smashed we can go to a normal bar."

"Nah, man, it's your twenty first, we gotta do it up right." 

"Guys, we are engineering students, we are supposed to be dignified, we do not need to go to a stripclub!"

"Dirk shut up and come on." Dirk groaned but let himself be pulled into the club. 

Just inside the doors was a very tall, very broad shouldered man with shoulder length dark hair wearing sunglasses. He stopped them with one fingerless gloved hand and slid his sunglasses down. 

"Do you have a reservation, or are you a walk in?" the bouncer, whose name tag read Equius in neat black letters, asked menacingly.

"We have a reservation, under Strider." Equius checked the list, then nodded and waved the group through. 

A scantily clad waitress, probably one of the strippers who wasn't on shift tonight, shimmied over to them with a smile and an airy wave.

"Hello, boys, my name's Porrim and I'll be helping you out tonight. Our show starts in just a few minutes, but can I get you boys some drinks? Is this a special occasion?" one of the guys immediately pulled Dirk's arm up and nodded.

"It's this dude right here, Dirk's, twenty first birthday."

"Oh my my my, how exciting. I'll get your first round of drinks on the house then. And I think you'll all enjoy our show tonight, it's theme night and the girl who's performing first is one of our better dancers, and very, very pretty." With a wink she swished away, and the group of boys settled into one of the red velvet booths towards the front of the club near the stage. There were other men, young and old, and the occasional woman in the audience, all drinking and laughing and looking expectantly towards the stage. Dirk squirmed uncomfortably in his seat. Porrim brought a round of drinks over with a smile, setting them down by bend delicately at the waist, showcasing her rather impressive chest and core of balance. Though Dirk as a rule was not fond of being drunk, he downed his drink quickly, hoping it would ease his discomfort with this situation. 

A few moments later the lights in the room flickered and dimmed, save for a spot light on the stage and the silver pole that sat front and center. Porrim spoke softly into a microphone, setting the scene. 

"The year was 1922. Prohibition was in full affect, and so the bootleggers and speak easies of the rebels were in full swing. One particular speak easy was well known not just for it's relatively high quality drinks, but for the pretty little blonde flapper who didn't just serve the drinks, but ran the whole establishment." 

When she finished speaking, a low jazzy tune began playing, picking up speed as a girl stepped out from backstage, clad in an impossibly short pale pink flapper dress, with a black feather boa, black fishnet thigh highs held up by pale pink garters, and killer black heels. Her blonde hair was perfectly coiffed and curled, topped off with an era appropriate feathered headband. Dirk blinked a few times, something about her seemed vaguely familiar. As she walked the rest of the way to the pole, hips swinging from side to side rhythmically, she winked out at the audience. When she reached the pole at the end of the stage and wrapped one leg around it, swinging elegantly before bending dramatically at the waist backwards, her head towards the audience, Dirk's stomach dropped. She didn't just look familiar. He knew that girl. 

'Holy fucking shit." he muttered under his breath. His friend Rufioh raised an eyebrow and elbowed him.

"So that's your type, eh?"

"No, I mean not that there's anything wrong with her, but that's not. Why I said that. I know that girl. We went to school together when we were younger." 

"Dude, what? Nice, she's hot." 

"Man, that? That's Roxy."

"Holy shit, what?"

Dirk nodded, gulping as he looked back up at the stage and saw Roxy tossing her boa away and shimmying the top of her dress down. he covered his eyes. 

"I can't watch this oh my god. I cannot watch my childhood best friend take her clothes off for money, this is so very wrong on so many levels." thoughts raced through his head. What the hell was she doing here? Shouldn't her mom have left enough money in her will for her to never need to work again? Both of their families were loaded, that's why they were at the same private school. 

On stage Roxy raised an eyebrow when a member of the audience covered his eyes. With a smirk she decided to mess with the guy, since Porrim had ppinted him out saying it was his birthday, and strode down the stairs to the audience gently, and picking up her discarded boa. The audience hooted and hollered at her as she walked towards him and looped the boa playfully behind his neck. He froze and pulled his hands down, staring up at her like a deer in the headlights. Her mouth fell open as soon as she could see his eyes clearly. 

"Holy fuggin shit." she said quietly, immediately removing the boa. Dirk turned bright red and ran, spending the rest of the night hiding in the men's room. Roxy finished her routine, after all, she was a paid professional. When her set was finished though she pulled on her robe and went out in the club, looking for Cal. He was lurking behind the bar. 

"Yo Cal!"

"What'd you want." 

"You see a dude in here, spiky blonde hair, wearin' black tank top and black jeans, lookin' totally fuckin' terrified?"

"You mean the kid hogging my bathrooms? Yeah. Want me to kick him out?"

"Yeah. I needa talk to 'im." Equius appeared out of seemingly nowhere.

"Did this blonde man touch you inappropriately, Lalonde?"

"Nah, he ran away from me, actually. I know him, didn't expect to see him again, let alone in a strip club." 

Cal pounded on the door and yelled at Dirk to get the hell out. After a few minutes he complied, almost running directly into Roxy, who was waiting. She nodded her head at him. 

"Sup, Strider." 

"Hey, Roxy."


	2. Chapter 2

Dirk stood stockstill, staring at his childhood best friend and frozen in shock. Roxy had one hip cocked and stared at him expectantly, fists clenching and unclenching in her robe pockets. 

"Long time no see, Strider." 

"Yeah, heh, what is it, eight years." 

"Yep. Eight years and mister trustfund couldn't once come visit me."

"You stopped calling." 

"Nuh uh. You stopped answering. I gave up." she shook her head sadly and shrugged. "Look. I wanna get the hell out of here. We can keep talking but we gotta keep talking in my dressing room." Dirk follows her stiffly. 

Her dressing room is a mess of costumes and make up and there's a wilting vase of pink flowers on the vanity. He lowers himself into a chair, carefully. 

"What the hell are you doing in this shit hole, Roxy?"

"Paying my way through med school, that's what." She speaks evenly as she wipes makeup from her face, tossing cold cream covered cotton rounds into her trasjcan. 

"Your mother's fortune should have been more than enough to get you through school." Roxy laughed darkly, pulling a bristle brush through her hair. 

"What fuckin' fortune? It took all of six months for the lab to find a way to say that was their money and I had no claim to it. I've been broke since the day they buired my mom's body." Dirk watchs her as she washes her face and brushes her hair out in the mirror. As she smudges off all the lipstick and mascara and her hair starts to curl out at the ends, like it did when she needed a haircut, she looks much more like the scared girl he said good bye to in eighth grade. His voice is soft when he speaks. 

"Why didn't you tell us? Youd could have come back, you know you could have gotten a scholarship at the academy for tuition. You could have stayed with us. Dave would have let you in a second." 

"I am nobody's charity case, Dirk Strider. I have taken care of myself since age ten and I will continue doing so until the day I die."

"It wouldn't have been charity. You were my best friend." Roxy shook her head. 

"You were only friends with me because I was friends with Jane and she was friends with you and Jake. Jake was your best friend. You were my best friend though."

"That's bull and you know it. We were inseparable. Mrs. VanBeers was convinced we were going to get married someday."

"Yeah. Guess you're right. Still didn't stop you from being the first to stop answering my calls. Jane and Jake stayed in touch for 8 years. You lasted like eight months."

"I know, I suck. I barely know how to be a friend in person, how could I be a friend from the otherside of the country. Let me make it up to you." 

"And just how do you plan on doing that?"

"Let me pay your rent and tuition." 

"No. Absolutely not." 

"Roxy, come on. You're a stripper. You're too smart for this." 

"Yes, Dirk, I am a stripper. I am a damn good stripper and I make more in tips in a week than a Cheesecake Factory waitress does in six months. Nobody does anything to me I don't want them to, and I never have to worry about scheduling my shifts around my classes because they're always at night. I can pay my rent every month and I only have one loan out right now that I'm paying on as I go, and that's mostly for books, my scholarship covers almost all of my tuition. I don't need a hand out. I'm doing what I have to to get by. I don't need you, or anyone else, to step in and take care of me."

"So you're just gonna strip until you pay off your school debts? What if you get hurt? What if one of your future employers finds out?"

"I'm not thirteen anymore, Dirk. I'm twenty one. I can handle my own shit, and I don't need to hold anyone's hand to do it, especially someone who stopped answering my calls seven years ago." She stands, pulling her robe off and stepping into a pair of jeans and a loose pink sweater. "Look, if you want to be friends, we can. I will gladly welcome you back into my life. But I don't want to be taken care of. I don't need to be taken care of. This is what I do for a living. You haven't been in my life for a long time, you can't just waltz in and take over. If we gotta deal, let's blow this joint and go somewhere classy for a drink. On you. Deal?" she stick her hand out.

"Deal." he shook her hand firmly.


	3. Chapter 3

"Good. Then come on, I know a place up the street that's quiet, and I know the bar tender. You can go say goodbye to your friends or whatever you need to do, I gotta wrap up here." 

Roxy showed him back out into the club before walking into a different back room. Porrim was standing at a full length mirror, getting ready for her shift. 

"Hey girl. What's with you and birthday boy?" the older woman asked, shimmying out of her waitress uniform and into the biker girl outfit she wore for theme night. She felt it suited her full body tattoos. Roxy sighed heavily and sank into a chair, counting her tips for the night as she spoke. 

"Remember that kid I mention sometimes, the one I went to my fancy ass private school with till my mom died and I moved out here?" 

"Yeah, the guy who was like your best friend that basically cut you off less than a year after you moved right?"

"Yep. Well, that's him. Dirk Strider." she shook her head and chuckled, low in her throat. "Who'd a fuckin' guessed right? Haven't seen him in like eight years and he shows up in the fuckin' strip club I work in. He must go to school here. I bet he goes to CalPoly. Anyway I'm gonna take off and like, catch up or something I guess. Tell Cal I'm sick er somethin' okay?"

"Sure thing, doll. Be safe okay? and fill me in tomorrow!" 

"Thanks Momma Porr." Roxy smiled softly and stood, rolling her tips up and rubberbanding them before shoving them into her back pocket. She left the dressing room, pulling her shoulder length hair into a messy bun while she scanned the room for Dirk. He was waiting by the door, looking uneasy under Equius' rather formiddable gaze. 

"It's okay, Eq. He's with me. Come on, loser, let's go." Dirk nodded stiffly and they both walked out of the door, hands shoved awkwardly in their pockets. 

"So where are we going?" Dirk asked quietly, after a few moments of silence. Roxy pointed up the block, to a well lit red awning with 'The Rockette' written on it in white rope lighting.

"The Rockette. It's a quiet, old fashioned joint. The bartender can be kind of a dick but he's endearingly so. We're friends."she shrugged. Actually the bartender of the Rockette was her ex-boyfriend she was on good terms with, but that did not seem like essential information right now, so she skipped it.

Pushing the double theatre-style doors open, she waved at the guy behind the bar, his hair slicked back in a neat pompadour. 

"Hey Cro." the bartender nodded and offered a wink. 

"Well if it ain't my favorite lady. Comsopolitan as usual, sugar?"

"As always, and uh, I dunno what this one drinks." she jerked her thumb toward Dirk. 

"Oh uh, an old fashioned, I guess." The bartender nodded, and got to work. A few minutes later, he placed both drinks on the polished counter top. 

"Thanks, Cro." 

"No problem, sugar, they're on the house. It's been a slow night." Roxy nodded and picked up her cosmo, waiting for Dirk to follow suit as she walked over to a small booth under a window. 

"So." she said, tracing the lip of her glass with one polished finger. "What brings you to California? Didn't you say you were never leaving the East coast?"

"I, uh. I'm not really sure, actually. I got into all the schools I applied to, and I just liked Stanford's program best, I guess. Where are you going to school?"

"University of California San Francisco's medical program. Studying to be a neurosurgeon. What're you studying?"

"Engineering."

"Of course." 

The conversation fell into awkward silence awhile. Dirk sipping his drink and jingling the ice cubes while Roxy continued tracing the rim of her cosmo idly. She cleared her throat once or twice as she tucked errant strands of blonde hair behind her ear. 

"I missed you." she said finally, her voice soft, as she stared a hole into the tabletop. Dirk swallowed and nodded stiffly. 

"Yeah, uh. Me too. I missed you too. They used to yell at me, Jake and Jane I mean, for not talking to you. And I'd ask after you all the time and they'd tell me to call but it uh, it felt like it had been too long. That was shitty. And I'm sorry. You deserved to have your best friend all those years and I couldn't bring myself to be that for you." 

Roxy nodded, swallowing some of her cosmo. 

"It's, um, it's okay. I could have kept calling too. I know how you are. It's both our faults. We can start over though, right? You and me?"

"Of course, Roxy. I live less than an hour from here. that's a much more manageable distance than across the country." 

Roxy nodded again and smiled gently. "Yeah, true." she pulled her phone from her pocket and groaned when she saw the time. "Shit. Hey, did your friends drive you here?"

"Oh, uh, no I drove myself."

"How drunk are you?"

"Not really at all. I've barely touched this and that drink in the club was awhile ago." he shook the glass which was indeed mostly full. 

"Do you think before you go, you could drive me home? It's not far, but I got a ride to work from Porrim today and public transport doesn't run this late."

"Yeah, of course." 

"Thanks heaps." 

The two rose from the booth and Roxy waved a goodbye to the bartender as they walked back to the club, where Dirk's car was parked. Roxy whistled slowly.

"Nice wheels." Dirk laughed and nodded as he opened a door for her.

"Yeah, they were a going away present from Dave."

"Jesus. Mind if I key my address into your GPS?" 

"Sure, go ahead." 

They spent the rest of the ride in silence, though slightly more companionable than the last few gaps in conversation had been. Dirk blinked when the GPS told him to pull over as they had reached their destination. They were far from in the best part of town, and the walk up in front of him looked questionable at best.

"You live here? Is this safe?"

"It's cheap, is what it is. Hey, listen, I programmed my number in yer phone while you were driving. Keep in touch this time, kay?" she smiled before shutting the door and starting up the rickety stairs, unlocking the two locks on the door, and disappearing inside. Dirk hesitated before driving away, feeling uneasy about leaving her in such a shifty area of town.

**Author's Note:**

> I got the idea for this late last night, and I really like it, even if it's kind of ridiculous. I hope you all find it at least a little amusing as it develops.


End file.
